13. Governors Island’s The Hills Opens in June

The much-anticipated project, The Hills are opening this summer on Governors Island, ahead of schedule. Dutch landscape firm West 8 created the four hills, which will range from twenty-five to seventy feet in height. The Hills project adds ten acres of green space, which will include 43,000 shrubs and more than 860 trees, along with pathways and playground slides. The tallest of the Hills, Outlook Hill, will offer panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan. It will also include a winding path made of blocks from the island’s seawall known as “granite scramble.”

Slide Hill will rise forty feet and includes four slides, one of which will be the longest slide in New York City. Discover Hill, also forty feet in height, will include a site-specific sculpture by British artist Rachel Whiteread, in the form of a cabin. The Grassy Hill, with its sloping lawn, will rise twenty-five feet. In addition to the opening of The Hills, the 2.2 mile promenade around the edge of the island will also open to visitors for biking and walking around the entire island.

Join us for a special sneak preview of The Hills led by folks from the Governors Island Trust on June 24th: